In the realm of security, equipment and technology are often a law enforcement officer's first and best line of defense both for themselves, and for enforcing the laws of society. An assortment of devices have been fashioned to aide the law enforcement officer in his duties, including security items such as a baton, fire arm, and conventional handcuffs. Each of these items has proven to be effective in deterring the resistance from encounters with criminals. Unfortunately, all of these items are not necessarily easy to deploy in a tense moments where a struggle is exhibited. Ideally, the arresting officer desires to restrain the individual as quickly as possible, in order to prevent harm to himself or others, which often results from a chase or brawl. Handcuffs—often said to be the ultimate restraint device, are conventionally only applicable after the subject has surrendered efforts to flee or fight. If there were a way to apply a wrist restraint device without the need of the subject's surrender, time, energy, and injury could be saved.
In the history of Jiu Jitsu, the early master's primary move for submission was the wrist lock. The wrist lock is regarded as the ultimate offensive or defensive weapon within the realm of Jiu Jitsu and other martial arts practices. It is the foundation or primus of Jiu Jitsu that if an individual controls a subject's wrist, he or she therefore controls the subject's elbow, and if the individual controls the subject's elbow, he or she controls their shoulder as well. If the individual is able to control the subject's shoulder, he or she may control their entire body. There are as many as 10 variations of the wrist lock, as it is a particularly powerful technique for restraining an individual, and the technique is useful to disable a person's primary weapon—their hands. In Jiu Jitsu, a person's defense is conventionally to attack the other person's thumb that is applying a wrist lock. The attack of the thumb is one of the only ways an assailant has at escaping a conventional wrist lock. If there were an effective means by which to apply a wrist lock without leaving the thumb susceptible for attack, wrist locks would be even more effective.
Thus, there is a need for a device capable of restraining a subject's wrists on-the-fly while in the throes of a chase or struggle. Ideally, such a device would protect the user's thumb, in order to assure that the wrist lock remains effective and is not easily repelled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,746, granted to Corby et al., and filed on Jan. 4, 1982 cites a “Tool for Retrieving Out-of-Reach Objects.” While Corby et al. features a jaw-like apparatus, unlike the present invention, the jaws are not lockable, and are intended for the retrieval of objects rather than the detainment or restriction of a subject.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,922,739, filed by Downey and issued on Apr. 12, 2011 lists a “Surgical Instrument with Trigger Control.” Unlike the present invention, Downey proposes the use of a single finger of a user to ‘control an attached, elongated tubular portion extending from the ergonomic handle,’ whereas the present invention is fashioned to be employed by a user's grip, and is not designed for surgical purposes.